I\u2019m officially a year into self-employment \u2013 while I didn’t do a huge celebration, I did take my husband out for an amazing taster menu dinner and raised a glass then. So, where am I a year on \u2013 what\u2019s the same and what\u2019s changed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early doors I started using the word consulting in my business name because I thought I should \u2013 it felt necessary to have at least some kind of descriptor for what I was doing. It\u2019s never felt like a great fit though and so in the last year I changed the name I\u2019m using simply to my own. I\u2019ve spotted it\u2019s a question lots of other freelancers have struggled with \u2013 just their name, their name and a descriptor or something else entirely? There\u2019s no right answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I\u2019ve definitely grown in confidence to own this business under my name alone. I still struggle with the word consultant, and even though it\u2019s what I call myself on LinkedIn and on my email signature etc, I\u2019m still searching for a better descriptor that feels a bit better fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My other reflection in terms of my business name and the content of my work is that I\u2019m still a generalist, and a very proud one. I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t limit myself to one specialism when I started out because I\u2019ve been able to do a big variety of work so far, and it\u2019s one of the aspects of self-employment that I\u2019ve loved the most. It definitely has its challenges in terms of how you describe yourself, how you market yourself and how you develop LinkedIn content to name a few, but I\u2019m also getting better at naming and owning that too. I\u2019ve even recently found a generalist network that I\u2019m going to explore and I love the fact that someone\u2019s recognised the niche and nuances of generalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within a few months, I\u2019d upped my day rate. Those initial calculations were invaluable, and I\u2019d hugely recommend someone else starting out in self-employment does a similar exercise. It really helped me understand my costs, the context I was working in and helped ensure I genuinely valued my time properly. I\u2019ve been running on this increased day rate for around 9 months and it was recently increased again for a new project. It may have taken a year, but I\u2019m much more comfortable naming my day rate now, because I\u2019m confident of what it needs to cover as well as the value I provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m still bowled over by the generosity of the freelance world. One particular network I\u2019m part of has shared a wealth of knowledge, event invites, insights, training and work opportunities. On top of that, it\u2019s provided people to partner with in tenders, a Monday morning check-in that grounds you for the week ahead and monthly conversation-coffees, linking together social-good freelancer for introductions. I feel so lucky to be part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My husband may hate it (a life lesson in getting carried away with an idea and purchase without consultation and laying any the foundations for change\u2026) but I\u2019ve got an incredible lightshade in the office now. It\u2019s a small thing, but along with the new plants, screen riser and footstall, it all goes towards having a more professional office. Particularly because the room used to be our daughter\u2019s nursery. It\u2019s also building more of a sense of permanence, that I\u2019m starting to believe this change is going to stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a major coup. I\u2019d created a cashflow when I started and committed to religiously separating out 25% of all earnings into a tax and NI account. My accountant aka husband completed my self-assessment this week and amazingly I was less than \u00a3100 off what I needed. And that\u2019s my tax bill for the year just gone, as well has half of next year\u2019s tax bill on account (thanks HMRC!). It felt amazing to have this ready, and from here on in I\u2019ll just be paying a half yearly tax bill, without any further speculative payments on top. It did mean I had to pay for pension contributions from my main account though – and that made me realise that if I want to make those 15% contributions, I need to be putting away 40% of my earnings each time. A goal for year 2 (or possibly later!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay, so this one was a pretty major fail. I\u2019ve not really achieved any significant holiday time \u2013 and I completely own up to that one. I\u2019ve found it so, so hard to carve out time and stick to it. Partly it\u2019s been the content of the work I\u2019ve taken on that\u2019s meant it\u2019s hard to step away from. Partly it\u2019s because I\u2019ve had a series of short-ish extensions one contract so a break always felt around the corner. But mostly it\u2019s because I need to learn to let go and recognise that the break is worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve really experienced a surge in confidence this year. I really love what I do, I add real value and I\u2019m so excited to learn more, develop more and continue to grow. I love the autonomy of owning my own CPD and there\u2019s now a huge list of training, workshops, groups and courses I\u2019d love to be part of. I\u2019ve found a whole new range of incredibly insightful and innovative development opportunities and just not enough funds\/time to do them all. Apparently if I won the lottery, I\u2019d spend it on CPD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other key growth area is faith. While the \u201ccliff edge\u201d of worklessness never feels too far away, I\u2019m learning to live with it. There is a natural ebb and flow to freelance work, and while it\u2019s validated my approach of a rainy day fund and scrupulously putting tax and NI money to one side, it\u2019s also helped bolster my faith that there is enough work out there \u2013 you just never know what\u2019s around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been a rollercoaster of a first year but I am so pleased with where I\u2019ve got to. Leaving employment really is a huge leap of faith and I\u2019m starting year 2 with so much more information, contacts, confidence and faith. I\u2019ve done facilitation, policy, communications, resource-building and mentoring across 7 organisations and managed to complete an 8-week international course in leading hybrid groups. I am hugely looking forward to a summer break but equally excited about what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Photo by Anirban Sengupta<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m officially a year into self-employment \u2013 while I didn’t do a huge celebration, I did take my husband out for an amazing taster menu dinner and raised a glass then. So, where am I a year on \u2013 what\u2019s the same and what\u2019s changed? Name Changes Early doors I started using the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[13,11,12,21,25,10],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-development","tag-charity","tag-consultant","tag-freelance","tag-non-profit","tag-self-employment","tag-start-up-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t